Thursday, November 02, 2006

Best sushi in Stockholm: Hattori Sushi Devil


Per, trying to master his chopsticks

Today, let's talk about sushi. I'm not a big fan. Or rather, I wasn't.

Let me elaborate. I've tried sushi several times before, and was never blown away. It was.. ok. Nothing special. Not very appealing, really. Boring.


Miso soup

And then my sister married a sushi chef, Peter. Who, it turns out, is one of the best sushi chefs in all of Sweden. And I'm not just saying this - he really is.

And what do you know? He just opened up his own place. It's called Hattori Sushi Devil, and after two tentative visits where I just popped by to say hello, he said that he was actually starting to get insulted that I never tried his food.


Lena with her whole squid.

So I worked up my courage, and visited for dinner there with Per, Lena and Nico. And wow, am I glad I did. Because now? Full-blown sushi fan. Yes. That's me.

See, Peter's sushi is amazing. Not only is it very fresh (he's one of fairly few chefs that work a la minute, meaning nothing sits and waits for the customer) and of highest quality, it's beautiful and most of all, innovative. Very, very innovative.


Lena with chopsticks

I don't remember all I ate - we each got two huge plates of great stuff, but I'll tell you about some of it. Peter told us all about it, but I was too floored to take it all in, I think. He also said that if we can't eat very well with chopsticks, it was fine to use our hands - and that's what most of us ended up doing.

And yes, I've been back - I had to sneak back on Monday for seconds, it was just that good. And I can't wait for my third visit.


Me, Per and Nico

-Miso soup with a lovely mussel floating in it
-A small appetizer of Edamame
-Salmon with saffron oil
-Giant shrimp with chilli mayonnaise
-Tuna with wasabi-marinated fly fish roe
-salmon with salmon roe
-rolls with rosemary-marinated ham, coriander, red onion, mayo and togarashi
-rolls with roast beef, mayo, red onions and coriander
-rolls with asparagus and smoked fish
-sugar and cinnamon flavored scallop
-whole squid, cooked in chilli
-squid salad
-jellyfish salad
-Salmon sashimi with fresh coral
-Spicy tuna sashimi

And I have to tell you about the soy sauce. There are three kinds at Hattori Sushi - the regular stuff is in the white bottle. The green bottle has soy flavored with various citrus fruit, and that was my fave. The red one had a very unusual smokey soy, flavored with smoked tuna. It reminded us of whiskey, and the guys really loved it.


My first plate.

My absolute favorite? I'd have to say the squid salad. It's amazing. And the dessert - a vanilla panna cotta with ginger glaze - was just the right thing to finish with.


The panna cotta

So. If you like sushi - or even if you don't - this is the place to go. Tell Peter I sent you - he's the guy in a red chef's uniform.

Hattori Sushi Devil (visit the homepage to find out what the name means)
Tegnérgatan 43 (Subway: Rådmansgatan)
08-22 44 00

Open weekdays 11-21, weekends 13-21

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Comment in Swedish - sorry!
När man läser ditt inlägg inser man snabbt att man bara NOSAT på vad Sushi egentligen är. Jag skall notera adressen och besöka restaurangen nästa gång det blir Stockholmsvisit!

Anne said...

Åh, det går så bra att lämna kommentarer på svenska också :) Ja, absolut gå dit och testa! Jag är hooked - men feg, för jag vågar ju inte testa någon annanstans nu :)

Anonymous said...

Nu sitter jag verkligen här och dregglar. Låter otroligt bra.

Pille said...

Wish your brother-in-law all the best with his new venture! Your sushi meal sounds great, and I think I'll try to recreate the vanilla panna cotta with ginger glaze pudding soon..

Pene said...

I hope Peter's venture is a resounding success story, Anne! I'll have to visit his restaurant next time I come to Stockholm.

pendlerpiken said...

Å, det høres fantastisk ut!
Neste gang jeg er i Stockholm skal jeg definitivt prøve... nam!
Håper det er i orden med kommentarer på norsk også :)

The Öbergs said...

I want to go sometime! I had sushi in the Täby mall this week - big surprise, it was gross. We must get together soon - still no internet at home. :-(

Anonymous said...

I'm not a fan of fish of any kind (never have been, but I wish I was), so I likely wouldn't care for much of the menu. However, the panna cotta sounds wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Just a question: sushi is traditionally eaten with bare fingers, with no utensils. So why is everyone weaving chopsticks around? It is much more lovely to eat sushi with your fingers.


Antonia

Anne said...

Dagmar - vi går dit snart! :)

Pille - he uses gari for it, and I'm definitely trying it myself soon!

Pene - absolutely!

Pendlerpiken - åh, min första kommentar på norska tror jag minsann! :)

Monica - definitely! Send me an e-mail sometime and we'll exchange phone numbers!

Pam - he has rolls with meat, too, and pure veggie ones! :)

Anonymous, really? That makes me feel a lot better - my chopstick skills are not very impressive! :)

Bean said...

Be sure to try eel sometime. It is cooked and usually has a very tasty sauce drizzled over it. The concept of eel really bothered me until I tried it.

Anonymous said...

Yummmmmm I love sushi!

I have never heard of flavored shoyu (soy sauce) before - but it sounds very interesting! I would like to try it though, do you know if they offer it anywhere in the US?

Anonymous said...

Oh, I really must must try his sushi soon! I was tempted already when I was there with you but there was no time then... It all sounds so delicious and innovative! And I had a terrible sushi experience at Ikki (California roll without mayo and dry crabsticks instead of crab - yuk) in Kungshallen this Tuesday so I have to regain sushi confidence!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Anne, most sushi is eaten with fingers. Only sashimi may employ chopsticks or some more complex pieces. Having lived in Japan, I have never seen people eat sushi with chopsticks. My name is Antonia, btw and I love sushi!

http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-62E3-9FC5288-39447149-prod2


Antonia

Anne said...

Bean - oh, I'll definitely try that! Eel isn't all that uncommon in Swedish cooking - usually smoked for the christmas table. I'm not a huge fan of that though :)

Allison - good thing I have informed readers, thanks Shelly! :)

Clivia - lunch, soon! :)

Antonia - ooh, thank you :) Then I won't even try to master the chopsticks, and feel good about it, too :)

Anonymous said...

I just bought a bunch of sushi ingredients and will be attempting to make some on Monday! YUMMY

Anonymous said...

Wow, looks amazing! What a cute restaurant! I know what you mean.. sushi takes some getting used to!

Anonymous said...

Dianka, it takes time getting used to if one belive sushi is about raw fish (which it isn't either, raw that is) when it is about the rice. ;)

Mark said...

Jag älskar sushi :D I just started eating it this year ... and it really is an awesome treat.

Is it possible to get real wasabi at Hattori Sushi Devil ???

Best of luck with the Restaurang

Anne said...

Mark - Peter is not there anymore, so I don't really know how they are these days. I doubt they have real wasabi! :)